The relationship between shared vision, cohesion, role clarity, mutual trust and transformational leadership within a team setting

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:New and innovative work structures are being employed in organisations today, especially in the way in which work is approached (Rico & Cohen, 2005). This experimentation has arisen because organisations are seeking better ways of achieving productivity targets and addressing customer demand (Arnold, Barling & Kelloway, 2001). These new work structures are team-based structures, which are widely purported to be the ideal, since teams can respond rapidly because of their multiplicity of skills (Kogler Hill, 2010).Furthermore, high performing teams with this multiplicity of skills should display certain characteristics or behaviours required to achieve results. This study suggests four team characteristics that are necessary for team success, namely shared vision, cohesion, role clarity and mutual trust. This study furthermore explores the role of the team leader in nurturing the above-mentioned characteristics at a team level, since current thinking on leadership suggests that a leader should be able to inspire, motivate and be a role model for his/her team members (Bass & Avolio, 1994), all of which are behaviours characteristic of a transformational leader; thus transformational leadership is the focal point in this study.To determine the effect of transformational leadership on team characteristics, a convenience sample (N = 73) consisting of various nursing wards within a large public sector hospital was used in this study. The measurement model used in the present study fitted the data satisfactorily, RMSEA = .077 (p > .05, 95% CI [.024, .12]). The hypothesised structural model - where transformational leadership affects all four team characteristics directly, without latent interrelationships between team characteristics - was then fitted to the data, showing poor fit, χ2 (df 50, N = 73) = 213.49, p < .05. Despite the poor initial structural model fit, the subsequent results indicated that the hypothesised relationships between transformational leadership and team characteristics (hypothesis 2 through to hypothesis 5) were all significant (p < .05).The modification indices were then investigated for indications of possible model improvement and it was indicated that three additional  paths (i.e. a link between shared vision and cohesion; a link between trust and shared vision; and a link between shared vision and role clarity) were to be considered for addition. The modification indices, in addition, also illustrated that two  paths (i.e. the link between transformational leadership and cohesion and the link between transformational leadership and shared vision) were to be considered for deletion. The structural model was respecified based on modification indices and expected Δ χ2 statistics, and fitted to the data, leading to acceptable fit, RMSEA = .079 (p > .05, 95% CI [.048, .670]). This indicated an improvement over the unmodified model. However, further research based on a larger sample would be needed to verify these suggested path additions and deletions.Overall, the results of the study support the key role that transformational leadership plays on desirable team characteristics. The limitations and implications of the findings of this study are discussed and recommendations for future research are also highlighted.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University